Summed up by Matt the Bulls Blogger: Here's a link to the MP3. What really jumps out at me is where he says they might have been mailing it in early in the season but now they're playing hard? I’m pretty confused by that statement, since it’s the exact opposite of what I’ve seen. They started out playing competitively and even had that fairly respectable circus trip that left us all thinking they were going to the playoffs. Since then, they’ve absolutely imploded. I mean, seriously, what the hell. Also, not knowing how long Vinnie is signed for?
There have only been a few "mail it in" games lately. For the most part they are trying very hard, at least IMO. And most of the players are playing hard the whole time.
This article is a direct indictment on Vinny. Clearly he is not happy with the team's progression ( and the lack of - improvement from Rose). I believe that he feels partly responsible for not getting D'Antoni and maybe that's why he's giving Pax a free pass. Even Pax's life line may run out if they continue to struggle into next year.
Heh, the quotes from Vinnie in response were pretty funny too: If there's one thing Reinsdorf really seems to hate, it's someone talking out in public. Or being perceived to. Anyway, I'd love to get ahold of their cell phones and see what sort of texting goes on between those two.
Vinnie also had a quote about people having the wrong expectations given the injuries. I bet Reinsdorf loved that quote.
I don't see how Avery Johnson won't end up as the next coach of the Bulls. I can't see Reinsdorf and Paxson wanting to go through this crap again. Look at where Scott Skiles got us. He was a great defensive coach, and pretty poor offensively, but had some decent out of timeout plays...but above all, he was a real NBA head coach, and he got us pretty far. I think there is a lot of talent on this team, and a real coach like Avery will be able to get it out of it. Avery's Mavericks were 1st in offense in 05-06, and 2nd in 06-07. In 06-07, their defense was #5 in the league. Even in their bad 07-08, they were top 10 in both categories. Vinny clearly doesn't really know what he's doing.
No freaking kidding! You don't see how he won't? It's not like he was the close runner up in the coaching contest to Vinnie last year. He didn't even interview. The Bulls showed no interest in him whatsoever. The Bulls have absolutely zero track record of hiring experienced coaches and when they did diverge from this, it was a disastrous non-starter (D'Antoni). So I hardly think he's a lock.
It turns out that Reinsdorf isn't mad at Vinny, but was pissed off at Harris and Bickerstaff, for pretty doing nothing all season long as coaches. They were given heftier contracts than assistants usually get, and Reinsdorf expected them to help Vinny a ton. Apparently 2-3 weeks ago, the Bulls front office came down hard on the coaching staff, which led to this change in play.
Are you overstatingly referring to this? That's interesting stuff. I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Does the head coach really feel bullied by his assistants? Do they do nothing? Do they think Vinnie's a boob? Who put this staff together and what were the expectations.
The offense looked noticeably more complex last night. They were using BG as a decoy on several sets and hitting the backdoor plays. Everything looked a lot more cohesive and it was all 5 guys playing together.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...9-nba-chi&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was at it again on Saturday. A day earlier, he called the Bulls’ season a “disaster” during a television interview but refused to comment on the coaching staff. When pressed on the coaching issue during Sox Fest, Reinsdorf indirectly criticized the assistant coaches. “How many coaches do we have?” Reinsdorf asked. When a radio reporter answered one, Reinsdorf said, “No, we don’t. You know what I’m saying?” While hiring Vinny Del Negro to serve as head coach despite no previous experience, the Bulls added veteran assistants Del Harris and Bernie Bickerstaff to help ease the transition. Those three didn’t always work well together early in the season, but the Bulls believe they’ve ironed out the problems and the staff has been running smoothly for a few weeks.
Got this interesting nugget this morning: Seems like the bulls aren't the only ones with a poor lockerroom and trouble with their coach.
I don't think it's aimed at the assistant coaches. I think he was criticizing all of them and the situation as a whole. Though, if they are surprised that Vinny didn't embrace assistant coaches he never wanted in the first place then they're crazy.
Vinny might not realize the bullet he dodged by not getting Bob Hill as an assistant. Bob Hill is an ace backstabber known for submarining head coaches he's worked for. I was really surprised when I heard that was the guy he wanted.
